Is an MBA in Marketing Worth It?

One could describe marketing as the fuel that drives global business, helping to promote goods and services through online channels, creating awareness and loyalty for brands, launching new products and breathing new life into well-known ones.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as “the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.”

If you’re currently enrolled in a bachelor’s program and thinking about continuing your education, or are a working professional looking to pursue a career in marketing, then you might be asking, “is an MBA in marketing worth it?”

If you’re passionate about learning how to influence and analyze consumer behavior or have the desire to further your career by helping companies meet and exceed their goals, then an MBA in marketing may indeed be right for you.

An MBA in marketing, which can also be referred to as a marketing MBA, is actually a Master of Business Administration degree with a specialization in marketing. That may sound complicated, but it’s important to understand what’s behind the degree’s formal name.

Our online MBA with a Specialization in Marketing here at DeVry concentrates on the development of sound marketing plans for today’s complex and fast-moving economy. Because this is an MBA program, and not a specifically-focused master’s degree, it covers a broader curriculum. Business administration and management topics are taught alongside marketing-specific topics like sales management, search engine optimization and market segmentation.

Our master’s degree program admission requirements here at DeVry require you to hold a bachelor’s degree from a University-recognized postsecondary institution, demonstrate quantitative and verbal skills proficiency and a have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.50 or higher on a 4.00 scale. View our Keller Graduate School of Management Academic Catalog for more detailed admissions information.

Core coursework encompasses leadership and technology, accounting and applied mathematics and strategic business. A partial list of our core MBA classes includes:

• Leadership and Organizational Behavior
• Project Management Systems
• Essentials in Accounting, Finance and Economics
• Applied Managerial Statistics
• Innovation Through Technology
• Managing Organizational Change
• Global Perspectives for International Business

You may still be asking: Is an MBA in marketing worth it, and what advantages can it give me? Choosing an MBA program over a marketing-specific master’s degree gives you the opportunity to sharpen your business administration and management capabilities. This involves developing leadership skills, applying strategic thinking, analyzing data and business opportunities and collaborating in a dynamic work environment.

Our MBA with a Specialization in Marketing can prepare you to pursue a wide range of potential marketing-related career options by exposing you to skills, tools and strategies used in digital marketing, promotion, public relations, brand management, market research and more.

These skills include:

• Analyzing and understanding consumer purchase behavior patterns.
• Using web analytics to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of digital marketing tactics.
• Evaluating and deploying marketing strategies to create value for consumers through product positioning, branding and other techniques.
• Analyzing and using qualitative data to help managers make better decisions regarding market targeting, pricing and advertising channels.

Is an MBA in marketing worth it? The business administration and management curriculum in our MBA specialization can help you develop leadership skills, while the marketing-specific coursework helps prepare you to be a better marketer with the tools required for today’s challenging global marketing landscape. If you’re ready to pursue new or more advanced career opportunities in a wide variety of roles and business sectors, then earning an MBA in marketing certainly can be worthwhile. 

_{*Not including breaks. Assumes year-round, full-time enrollment.}